Cirque Du Freak: The Saga Of Andrea Vladimir
by Vampet Lord
Summary: Andrea is Darren's replacement, she comes from a broken home until fate leads her to the the Cirque Du Freak with her best friend Steve. At first, she seems like a normal 17 year old but she's classified as one of the freaks as well, she just able to hide her ability. Warning:contains language and AndreaXOC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Cirque du freak but I sure as hell wish I did. Andrea Vladimir belongs to my friend Andy who's helping me right the story. You might know her as Vlad the Vampire lord.**

**Prologue**

I've always been able to make fire out of nothing. I don't know why, I was born with that extraordinary ability. One thing that I've known my entire life is, that I was never normal, and nor will I ever be. I had no parents for i lost them in a house fire when i was five but I lived with my foster parents. I lost my best friend at seventeen and turned into a creature of the night, then I joined a freak show.

If I would have known then, what I know now. I would have dealt with life, before it turned freaky. Then though, I wouldn't have met these amazing people along the way. Evra Von, Hibernius Tall, Larten Crepsley but I wouldn't have hurt anyone either. I learned a lot in my whole life, and I regret a lot of my decisions. I bet your tired of my blabbering.

So on with the story, that started with a normal school day, and turned into the freakiest nightmare, that you wouldn't even beging to be able to imagine. but like all good stories they start out slow and boring so bear with me here.

so without further adieu I give you my life's story.

**Author's note: Chapter one will be up either later on today or tommorrow morning.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** **So Darren's replacement is Andrea Vladimir and Steve is the same. His just to awesome and sexy to replace.**

**Chapter 1**

I was sitting in a toilet stall. With my pants on. I know, I'm weird. Actually, the 4th stall from the left in the boys/girls toilet is a great thinking-spot. I sat there every school day, the last ten minutes of the lunch break. Steve was the only one with this little piece of information. So he knew exactly where to find me.

I heard the door fly open."Andrea? You in here? "

"Yeah." I opened the door and found myself in front of Steve, who, as always, looked at me like I was: A. Hot, and B. Amusing because of my weirdness. I poked his arm.

"Stop looking at me like that. I'm not weird."

"Yes you are, but you're weird in an adorable way." He teased. I rolled my eyes at him and opened my mouth to give him a sarcastic reply, but he kissed me before the first word could get out. Suddenly, I couldn't even remember what I'd been planning to say, and I found myself wrapping my arms around his neck and twisting my hands in his hair. His tongue tickled mine lightly, teasingly, and I responded with the same playfulness, losing myself in the moment.

The bell rang, ending our little make-out session."Shit, we're gonna be late!" I said, then proceeded to grab my bag in one hand and Steve in the other, heading for the "art" classroom. I've done like, one painting, and the closest thing to art that Steve's ever done is a 'wanna make out in the hallway?'- note. And that's more art than most people around here. Yeah, the art classes here suck. Anyway, back to me. I spent the next 40 minutes talking to Steve and Tommy. After the class we went to the history classroom and waited for Alan. He came running down the hallway in the same moment as the bell rang.

"Hey, you guys! Look what I've got!" he shouted. Unfortunately, shouting is like music to teachers. Mr. Dalton, the history teacher, was on us in a flash, prompting us to go inside before Alan could show us his mysterious something. Great, an hour of the worst kind of torture. History!

The stupid, headache-giving bell rang again. Finally! No more school for today! I almost tackled Alan to the ground in my attempts to steal the mysterious something. Steve and Tommy cheered me on. I finally got a hold on the mysterious something. I examined the piece of paper with great interest. It read:

**Cirque du Freak**

**One week only -Cirque du Freak!**

**See:Sive and Seersa -The Twisting Twins!The Snake-boy! The Wolf-Man! Gertha Teeth!**

**Larten Crepsley and his performing spider - Madam Octa!**

**Alexander Ribs! The Bearded Lady!Hans Hands!Rhamus Twobellies - World's Fattest Man!**

**Warning! Some restrictions apply! Not for the fainthearted!**

I looked up at Alan. Tommy immediately swiped the flyer and Steve started reading over his shoulder."Alan?"

"Yes, Andrea?"

"What. The. Fuck. Is that?" I asked slowly.

"Um, it's a flyer. For something called Cirque du Freak."

"No shit Sherlock. I meant: What the fuck is Cirque du Freak?"

"A freak show." Steve answered from behind the flyer. "Cirque is French for circus, and Freak means, uumm, freak."I made up my mind. For about three seconds.

"We're so going."

"I'm in." Steve said.

"So am I." Tommy declared.

"And I." Alan piped up.

"Great. How much for a ticket?"

"20 dollars."

"CRAP! I only have 12! How much do you guys have?"

"Same as you." Steve said.

"15." Alan, the little saver. I probably owe him a hundred bucks by now...

"Err, 8." Tommy owes everyone a hundred bucks by now...

"Ok, so we have 47 dollars. Anyone's got an idea on how to find 33 dollars?"

"The money jar in my kitchen?" Steve suggested.

"Depends. Are you allowed to steal money?" I asked.

Steve rarely cares about his moms rules."It's not stealing if you give it back."

"Fine. Everyone go home and get the money. We'll meet here again in twenty minutes."

"I'll go get the tickets tonight and give them to you tomorrow."

**20 minutes later...**

Tommy and Alan left, giving me some quality time with Steve."So, what do you think the Cirque's like?" I asked.

"I don't know, but it's probably really weird." He gave me his most innocent smile. "You ought to fit in perfectly." I punched his arm and laughed.

"Look who's talking! You sleep with a vampire book under your pillow!" He laughed too, and caught hold of my waist. My lips met his eagerly, and I parted my lips to allow his tongue to mingle with mine. We stood like that for a while, and to be honest, a bomb could have blown up the school without us paused to catch our breath.

"You know," Steve said while he planted a few kisses down my neck, "we're going to the Cirque this Sunday. How about a sleep-over?"

"Phff like my parents would allow that, they still don't know that were dating."

"that's true" he sighed "well I have to go buy the tickets. I'll see you tomorrow." His eyes softened. "I love you." My heart skipped a beat. That was the first time he said it.

"I love you too." I said softly, before giving him a sweet kiss.

"See you tomorrow." I turned around and started walking home, when I notice a short fat man watching me from the shadows. I turned my head and when I looked back he was gone.

"creepy" I mumbled as I started to run home.

**A/N: Steve has sweet side. I hope it's not to OOC. And yes Mr. Tiny is stalking them. How do you like the first chapter?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

**~the next day~**

Tommy, Alan and I met outside the math building the next morning.

"Steve isn't here yet?" I asked, surprised. Steve was never on time, but for a _freak show_ he ought to try.

"Nope. He probably couldn't get the tickets and now he's to afraid to show up." Tommy said.

"Right. Cuz that totally sounds like him"

"Look who's talking. You would have found him _and _kicked his ass by now, if it wasn't for the fact that he's so busy with yours." He and Alan grinned evilly.

"Oh, you are so dead." I prepared to kick their asses Andrea-style, but the class started."Saved by the bell." I said with a scary face. They kept grinning like idiots.

Blah, blah, blah, math stuff. So...bored...it hurts. Seriously, math is pain. Tommy and Alan kept sending me obscene notes about Steve, and I kept sending them death-threats in door opened and Steve and Mrs. Leonard walked . Leonard said something to the teacher. She noticed me and smiled. I smiled back. Steve's mom is quite nice, actually. Steve is pretty much the only one who doesn't seem to think so. He sat down next to me and the teacher got back to her endless ranting.

"Did you get them?" Alan asked as soon as we left the classroom. Steve just stared into space..

"Sooo, did you get the tickets?" I asked excitedly.

"Um, yes and no." Steve started

"What do you mean, yes and no? Do you have them or not?" I frowned. "Did you drink Red Bull before going here?"

"That's beside the point. And yes, I have tickets."

"Yay!" I screamed

"Two tickets."

"WHAT!" Tommy, Alan and I screamed.

"But you had enough money for four!" Alan freaked. Steve shrugged.

"I know, but they ran out of tickets."

"So, who gets the tickets?" Tommy asked The Question that was in everyone's mind.

"I brought the flyer." Alan said quickly.

"Who gives a shit? Steve should get one. I mean, he paid the most, and he bought the tickets." i said

"Yeah, that's fair." Tommy agreed.

"Fine." Alan gave in.

"Ok, so who goes with me?" Steve asked?

Alan opened his mouth."YES ALAN YOU BROUGHT THE FLYER AND THAT'S GREAT BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN GO SO DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT!" everyone yelled at Alan who now closed his mouth.

"I think we should let Steve choose." I suggested.

"Of course you suggest that. He would pick you, he likes you." Tommy said seeing trough my "innocent" suggestion.

"Well, duh! Otherwise I wouldn't have suggested it." I said shrugging

"Um, guys?" Steve said from behind us.

"Yeah?" We all turned around to look at him. He was holding a box filled with pieces of paper.

"What's that for?" Tommy asked.

"Deciding who gets to go to the Cirque. Look, I'll put the ticket in here with the pieces of paper, shake the box, and throw all the papers in the air. If you get the ticket it's yours. Sounds fair enough. Do you guys agree?"

"Sure." Tommy sighed.

"Fine." Alan said

Steve put the ticket in the box and shook it. Tommy, Alan and I lined up. Steve threw all the papers in the air and Tommy and Alan immediately started to snatch papers. I was about to join them, but suddenly I got this weird feeling. I always follow my instinct, and now it was telling me to close my eyes, raise my arms in front of me and wait for...something. I stood like that, feeling like a total idiot (and probably looking like one too). Suddenly, a voice inside my head screamed "NOW!"I clenched my hands quickly, without thinking, and lowered them to my sides.

"It's not here!" Alan yelled

"I can't find it!"

"Andrea?" Steve had, obviously, noticed me. (Did I mention that I looked like an idiot?) "What's that in your hands?" he asked making me looked at him uncertainly. "Did you get the ticket?" Steve asked, walking up to me.

"No way. Her eyes were closed." Alan said. He and Tommy went back to looking for the ticket on the looked me in the eyes.

"C'mon, what's in those hands of yours?"I opened my right hand slowly. _No ticket. Crap! Did I do all that weird stuff for nothing? _"What about the other hand?" Steve said softly. I had a left hand? I completely forgot! I opened it slowly. There was a green piece of paper there. I had to know for sure. I turned it right side-up. There it was, in bright red, the magical words._CIRQUE DU FREAK__._

"YES!" I screamed. Tommy, Alan and Steve started laughing.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks Vlad the vampire lord for helping me write the first 3 chapters in less than a day. Hope you guys are liking the story so far.**

**Chapter 3**

I woke up to the sound of my alarm. I quickly change and started climbing out of my window. Steve was all ready waiting outside for me with my bike. After we rode our bikes to the bad part of town we saw the theater.

"Are we going in or what?" I asked in a louder voice. Steve didn't answer, but he extended his hand towards me, and I grabbed it tightly. We walked up the front stairs and I opened the door. It was pitch-black inside. Steve and I walked further into the house. I bumped into something big and would have ended up on the floor, but two huge hands grabbed my upper arms and kept me upright. I looked up. It was the tallest man I'd ever seen! The top of his hat touched the roof! He put me down next to Steve. I just stared at him with my mouth wide-open. Steve grabbed my hand again and I snapped out of it.

"Uh, thank you." I said in a small, grateful voice.

"You're welcome, Andrea." His voice was Deep and warm, the kind of voice you could listen to forever. Steve gasped, I looked at him. He looked paler than usual, and he was shaking.

"Steve! What's wrong?"

"He knew your name."

"Excuse me, but how did you know my name?" I stretched as high as I could in an effort to look taller. "And what's _your_ name, anyway?"

The man gave me a look that made me feel puny. His eyes were pitch-black. "My name is Mr. Tall, and I am the owner of the Cirque du Freak."

"But how did you know her name?" Steve had decided to stand up for me, apparently.

The man, Mr. Tall, whatever, bent down until he was at our eye level. "I know lots of things. I know your names. I know where you live." He looked at Steve. "I know that you don't like your parents." He looked at me. "I know how you got your ticket."

"But how can you possibly know that?" He didn't answer me, instead he walked away Great. Steve and I shared a look, weighing our options. He _was the_ owner, so the best way to find the Cirque was probably to follow him. I squeezed Steve's hand and we followed Mr. Tall around a corner. He was just a few steps ahead of us, but when we got around the corner he was sitting behind a table in the other end of the hallway. Weird. We walked up to him again.

"Your tickets, please." We gave him our tickets, and he _ate_ them! (Again, _ate_ them! Talk about a freak...) "The show is about to start, so you better hurry." He motioned toward some sort of curtain-thingy.

I smiled at him. Then, before I could change my mind, I took four steps forward and was on the other side. it was a long dark hallway.

"in there?" I asked, he nodded "its a bit dark." I said pointing out the obvious.

"Do you want me to hold your hand?" he replied slightly chuckling. I smirk and stuck out my hand making him laugh.

"come on Andrea," Stve said pushing me inside.

There were rows and rows of lawn-chairs, facing a huge stage. Steve tugged at my hand and we started looking for seats. We found some on the fourth row, in the middle. After we sat down, some weird trumpets played a creepy little (extremely long) tune. When they stopped playing (finally), a single spotlight lit up the middle of the stage. Two guys came into view, dragging a cage on wheels with them. It was covered with something that looked like a _rug_. When the two guys were in the middle of the stage, under the spotlight, they let go of the ropes they'd been dragging the cage in and ran offstage. The trumpets played three short tunes, and the rug fell of the cage, and people screamed. Screamed for fun, not because the freak jumped off the stage and started eating people. He looked like he wanted to, though. It was the was hideous! Every inch of his body was covered in hair. He had yellow eyes and red teeth. Despite the fact that he looked like a monster, you could see that a part of him was human. He roared and slammed his hands against the cage's bars. He was kind of fascinating, in a creepy beautiful women walked up to the cage. They said that it was super important that we didn't make any loud noises. Then they made some weird little hypnosis thingy on the Wolf-Man. He got into some sort of trance. The women opened the cage and let him out. They started to walk down the aisles with the Wolf-Man in tow. They let people touch his fur (or whatever it was) as long as they were careful. Steve and I both reached out and stroked his fur. It felt as creepy as he looked. It wasn't like normal, soft animal fur. It was spiky, and it smelled like burning Wolf-Man and the women kept walking around, until there was a loud BANG! It was impossible to know where it came from. The Wolf-Man snapped out of his trance. He roared and pushed the women aside. People freaked out and tried to get as far away from the Wolf-Man as they could, as fast as they could. A woman wasn't fast enough, and the Wolf-Man got his hands (or paws, whatever) on her. He pinned her to the floor and tried to rip of her throat. She held up an arm to protect herself, but the Wolf-Man sunk his teeth into it and _ripped it off_.The woman screamed so loud that it hurt my ears, and blood flowed out of the stump that was left. Everyone freaked out even more, and the Wolf-Man looked crazy. Suddenly, Mr. Tall appeared out of nowhere and grabbed him from Wolf-Man struggled against his hold, until he whispered something in his ear. He relaxed and let go of the arm (he still had it in his mouth). The two women reappeared and took the Wolf-Man back to the cage. I turned my attention back to the woman who'd lost her arm. She was still screaming and clutching her stump. Mr. Tall bent down next to her, and a hooded guy (who worked for the Cirque) gave him the arm. He took a out a little sack from somewhere. He opened it and took out some kind of wannabe fairy dust. He strewed some of it over her arm and then he started to sew the arm back! When he was done, he asked the woman to move her fingers. She did!She looked shocked at first, then grateful. She looked up at Mr. Tall.

"Th-thank you." She made it as if to get up, but Mr. Tall took a deep breath."

PLEASE FOLLOW OUR RULES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THIS IS NOT A NICE, SAFE CIRCUS WHERE NOTHING GOES WRONG! WE CANNOT GUARANTEE ANYBODY'S SAFETY. IF YOU CANNOT ACCEPT THAT, LEAVE. LEAVE NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!" He boomed. Some people actually left. Sissies. Steve and I looked at each other and grinned.

"_As if_ we're gonna leave now." I said in my bravest voice.

"My thoughts exactly." We proceeded to make out until everyone had settled down.

The Wolf-Man was rolled offstage and the next freak made his appearance. It was Alexander was the skinniest man I had ever seen! He looked like a skeleton with skin and eyes! I would've thought he looked scary, if he hadn't had such a friendly smile. He danced around the stage in ballet clothes, and I couldn't help but laugh. When he stopped dancing, he told us that he was a distortionist, meaning he could bend his body pretty much however he wanted to. He demonstrated this by bending his head backwards until it looked like he didn't have one. Then, he bent his whole body backwards, like when you're dancing Limbo. The thing was, he didn't stop. He kept bending until his head touched the floor! Then he pulled it in and up between his legs, until it was in front of his stomach! He straightened out and bent in a new way. He twisted his torso around five times, until his joints started to creak, and then he straightened out real quickly. And then he did something truly amazing. He took two drumsticks and played on one of his bony ribs. He opened his mouth and out came a beautiful tone. My jaw dropped. Why couldn't I do that? He played a few trying tones and then he started to play for real. He played "London Bridge Is Falling Down", a few Beatle songs and some theme-songs from famous TV-shows. When he asked if anyone wanted to wish a song and everyone started to yell their wishes, I yelled: "The Criminal Minds theme-song!" as loud as I possibly could. He noticed me, winked, and started to play.

I sat back in my chair, feeling extremely smug. When he was done playing and went offstage, I was one of the people that called for an encore, but none of the freaks gave any. The next freak was Rhamus Twobellies, and he was as fat as Alexander was skinny. I thought he was going to fall through the floor. Seriously. He walked at the edge of the stage and pretended that he was about to fall. People freaked out and tried to get away. What the hell was wrong with these people? If you're such fraidy cats, don't go to a freak show!

When Rhamus was done with the fake falling he went to the middle of the stage and started to tell us about his ability. He had a nice voice, low and petulant.

"Hello. My name is Rhamus Twobellies, and I actually have two bellies! I was born that way, just like some animals. The doctors were amazed and said I was a freak. That's why I joined this circus and why I'm here tonight."

The women who'd been controlling the Wolf-Man came onstage, bringing two carts filled with food along with them.

"Yummy." Rhamus said. He pointed at a huge clock that was hoisted down with a rope from above. It stopped about nine feet over his head. "How long do you think it takes before I've eaten all of this? Anyone who guesses best gets a prize."

Everyone started yelling their guesses. I said 5 minutes and Steve said twenty-nine minutes. (Well, I suppose _yelled _is a better word...) The shortest guess was mine. When everyone was done guessing, the clock started ticking and Rhamus started eating. It was kind of gross. He ate so quickly that the food practically disappeared before our eyes! I just thought it was cool and Steve seemed to be thinking the same thing, but a bunch of other people threw up. Then, Rhamus swallowed the last piece of food and stopped the clock._ Four minutes and fifty-six seconds!_

" hell yea I was the closes" I yelled smiling like an idiot.

"Yummy, but I would've loved some more dessert."

While everyone was clapping, the two women rolled the carts away and returned with a new one. This one was filled with glass figurines, forks, spoons and scraps of metal.

"Before I begin, I warn you not to do the same when you get home! I can eat things that would smother and kill normal people. Don't follow my example! You risk your life."

_Damn it! Because I really wanted to eat glass figurines..._Rhamus started to eat. He started with a few nuts. When he'd swallowed a few fistfuls he shook his big belly, and you could hear them rattle around in there. The belly billowed and then he spat out the nuts again! (There were too many of them for him to hide in his mouth, so it definitely wasn't fake.)Then he ate the glass figurines, which he chewed into little pieces and swallowed with water. Then he ate the forks and spoons. He bent them into little rings, put them in his mouth and let them slide down, because his teeth weren't strong enough to chew them. Then he ate a long chain, before he took a break to catch his breath. No wonder. If I were that fat I'd have poor health too. His belly started to rumble and vibrate. It billowed again and the top of the chain stuck out of his mouth! He started to pull the rest of the chain out of his mouth. The spoons and forks were threaded on it.

He had managed to thread the chain through the loops inside the stomach. It was incredible! When Rhamus went offstage I thought that his gift had to be the most amazing thing ever. I was wrong.

There was a pause after Rhamus. Two of the hooded guys were selling souvenirs. I bought a lock of the Wolf-Man's hair. I almost jumped up and down on my seat with joy. I had a lock of the Wolf-Man's hair! How cool was that!Steve was messing with the hooded guys. Of course. He was making up some shit about how he couldn't read, in an attempt to make them talk. I rolled my eyes and leaned forward to talk to one of the hooded guys. The one who wasn't being harassed by Steve.

"Thanks for the souvenirs, Why don't you and your friend get out of here before my friend rip your hoods of?" The little ones nodded and walked away.

"Why did you tell them to go away? I wanted to find out more about them." Steve complained. He opened his mouth to say something else, but he was cut off when I kissed him. the next freak appeared onstage. It was the bearded lady. Mr. Tall stood behind her and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a very special act. Truska is new in our family. She is one of the most amazing artists I have seen, and her ability is truly unique." He was very beautiful, dressed in a red dress with many slits and plackets. Of course all the men (who weren't there with a woman) stared at her like a bunch of dogs stares at a bone. went forward to the edge of the stage so that we could see her better, and then she said something that sounded like the barking of a seal. She put her hands against her face, one on each side, and stroked gently over the skin. Then she pinched her nose with two fingers and tickled her chin. A beard seeped out of her face! It was long and straight. The beard grew until it was about 4,5 inches long. Truska walked off the stage and let people touch the beard. The beard kept growing while she walked around, until it touched the floor. When she walked by our row on her way back to the stage, I noticed that even though there wasn't even a breeze in the theater, her beard wasn't still. It kind of fluttered. It reminded me a little of whiskers. When she was back onstage Mr. Tall reappeared.

"Cirque du Freak gives one solid bar of gold to anyone who can slice off Truskas beard." He held up the gold to show everyone that he was serious.

A lot of people immediately ran onstage, of course. Oh, please. How much money would the Cirque have if they gave people gold bars?No one could cut the beard. _Shocker_. When everyone had gotten offstage, Truska walked back to the middle of the stage. Then she stroked her face again, and sucked the beard back into her head!Everyone gave her a huge applause as she walked off the next freak was Hans Hands. His act was okay, I suppose. I mean, he could walk on his hands better than most people could walk on their feet, but his act wasn't very exiting.

After Hans Hands there was another pause. Steve and I didn't notice. We were in our own little world, playing tongue-wrestling. Unfortunately, Mr. Tall appeared onstage again, and he was hard to ignore.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our next act is another unique and perplexing one. It can also be quite dangerous, so I ask that you make no noise and do not clap until you are told it is safe."

Everyone shut up, the incident with the Wolf-Man fresh in our mind. Mr. Tall walked back offstage, while introducing the next freak in a low voice.

"Larten Crepsley and his performing spider, Madam Octa!"

Finally! I started to bounce up and down a little. Steve squeezed my hand and smiled. I wasn't usually this openly enthusiastic about , I had a moment when I felt like I flied through the roof, lost my wings, plummeted to the ground and landed on my ass. Onstage, a man appeared. He was taller than most men, and dressedin red. Oh. My. God. he was sexy!The man walked to the middle of the stage. Then he took off his hat, he smiled, and then his eyes scanned the rows in front of him. His eyes flew over the faces in the room. His gaze froze on Steve for a second. I turned and looked at looked like he'd seen a mutated super-ghost eat a bucket of people. That scared! He was paler than me, and he shook violently. I'd never seen him so scared. I was about to ask him if he was okay, but then I felt someone looking at me. I turned my eyes back to the stage, and I looked into those warm, brown eyes again. His eyes stopped scanning the audience. He kept looking at _me_. He still didn't break eyecontact as he bent down and picked up a small cage at his feet. Wait, why did he have a cage? Oh, right. The spider. Almost forgot about, his smile grew a little wider, as if he knew what I was thinking. He put the cage on a little table that had somehow found it's way to the stage. He opened his mouth and his deep, warm voice filled my ears. At first I didn't pay attention to_ what _he was saying, because I just listened to the sound of his voice. Then, a few minutes into his speech, I decided that I should pay attention. He was talking about tarantulas and how poisonous they were. Okay, I already knew all that stuff. Suddenly, I noticed that Steve was still squeezing my hand. Well, by now he was cluthing it (painfully) like a lifeline. He was staring at mr. Crepsley, still wearing a 'omg-it's-a-ghost' expression on his face. Worry washed over me and I felt guilty for paying more attention to the man onstage than Steve.

"Steve! What's wrong?" He jumped a little and looked like he'd forgotten I was there. Then he forced the scared expression off his face.

"Nothing's wrong." There was exitement and fear in his eyes. Mostly fear. He was protecting me from something, trying to keep me safe from something dangerous. I could see that in his eyes, too.

"Uh, okay... Are you sure you're alright?" I could still see his scared face in my head.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, okay?" He squeezed my hand reassuringly and smiled. The smile didn't touch his eyes, but I chose to ignore that.

Mr. Crepsley dragged my focus back to the stage by opening the cage. The spider was absolutely horrific! It was big and hairy and gross and awesome."Madam Octa is truly an incredible spider. She is both poisonous and intelligent."

as he explained ablut madam octa the only thing that was on my mind was how awesome it would be to own that spider.

While he talked, one of the little hooded guys led a goat onstage. It seemed scared and tried to escape. Retard-goat. The hoodie-guy tied the goat to the table and spider spotted the goat and krept toward it. It stopped at the edge of the table, looking like it waited for an order. Mr. Crepsley picked up a short flute from a pocket somewhere, and then his eyes met mine again. Mr. Crepsley smiled again, and then he played a few tones on the flute. Madam Octa jumped onto the goat, bared her fangs and bit its neck! The goat froze for about five seconds, and then it collapsed. At first I thought it was dead, but then I saw that it was breathing.

"This flute here is how I control Madam Octa. She and I have worked together for many years, but she is not my pet. If I did not have this flute, my life would be in danger." Mr. Crepsley informed us, still looking into my eyes. His voice was hypnotizing. "The goat is merely paralyzed. I have trained Madam Octa not to kill outright with her first bite. But the goat will die in the end, after all- there is no cure against Madam Octa's bite- so we shall finish it quickly."

Madam Octa bit the goat again, and it died. I barely noticed this, because I was still staring into those eyes, having an out of body-experience.

_'Stop that!' _My inner voice snapped, and I mentally slapped myself._ 'Just look away from those damn eyes!'_

'Yes,' I agreed with it myself, 'I can do that! Just look away from those eyes! Those deep, warm, wonderful eyes...'_'I said stop that! You don't even know him! You're so not the type of girl who'd let some stranger affect you like that! First of all, you love Steve. Second of all, he's more than a decade older than you! Third of all, you can't just develop a crush on some random dude!'_Inside my head, I sighed at myself. 'It's not _that _kind of crush! I mean, it's not even a crush! I mean, it's not anything! But if it was a crush, it would just be the kind of crush that all the girls at school have on Edward!' (= An unrealistic/fictional crush!)_'Yeah, right! '_'Shut up!'Feeling mad at myself, I turned my focus back to the show. (Yeah, I argue with myself a lot...)Madam Octa jumped of the goat and krept toward the edge of the stage. People freaked out again. Sigh. my hand almots reached out to touch her. but then i heard Mr. Crepsley

"Do not move! Remember your earlier warning: a sudden noise could mean death!"Everybody froze. Mr. Crepsley played on the flute again and Madam Octa krept back to him."You will be safe now. But please, do not make any loud noises. If you do, she might come after me."

Um, okay. What was he doing? Madam Octa krept onto his right arm. She krept up to his shoulder, over his face and onto the top of his head, and settled down. She looked like a weird . Crepsley started playing again, and Madam Octa krept down the other side of his face until she hung upsidedown from his chin. She spun a thread and lowered herself down until she was about 4,5 inches from mr. Crepsley's chin. She started to swing back and forth. Once she got a good swing and was on her way up, mr. Crepsley bobbed his neck and she flied high into the air. I thought she was going to land on the floor and turn into spider-mush, but she didn't. She landed in mr. Crepsley's mouth! It was so cool! I almost fell off my chair in awe!Mr. Crepsley stretched out his head so we could see his face (and spider-filled mouth) properly.I wondered how he was supposed to control the spider now that he couldn't play the flute. Then, mr. Tall showed up with another flute. He didn't play as good as mr. Crepsley, but good enough to make Madam Octa obey. She started to spin a web over mr. Crepsley's mouth! When she was done, she lowered herself from his chin again. The web she'd spun was beautiful. (That's another thing I love about spiders, I've always thought their webs are amazing.)Mr. Crepsley ate it. Seriously, he ate the spider-web! When he was done, he patted his stomach.

"Delicious! Nothing tastier. Fresh spider-webs are a treat were I come from."

Everyone clapped, and then mr. Crepsley made Madam Octa do a bunch of other tricks. He made her roll a ball over the table and balance on it. She made a bunch of gymnastic exercises, like lifting weights. She even ate dinner! She... was... amazing! I thought about how awesome it would be to own her. Of course, I couldn't _own_ her. Who would give a spider like that away? Nothing wrong with dreaming, the act was over, mr. Crepsley put Madam Octa back in the cage and bowed. Then he offered me one more smile, and this time I smiled back._**'Steve!'**_ My mind bellowed at me.'I was just smiling! Geez...' (My subconsious is a real bitch.)I turned around to check if Steve was still acting weird. He was. His face didn't show fear anymore, only exitement. But why? I mean, he'd just been sitting there, watching the show. Oh well, he always used to open up and tell me what was troubling him after a few days. I got comfy in my seat and thought about mr. Crepsley again. Why did he smile at me all the time?_'Isn't it obvious? You're a pretty girl and he's a guy. Not to mention, he's leaving this place in a few days. He was probably looking for a one nightstand.'_'Right! He didn't look like the kind of guy who looks for onenightstands.'_'Well, maybe he fell high-over-heels_ _and now he'll be outside your house tonight and you'll run away with the Cirque. Does that sound more likely? '_'No. I wouldn't mind finding out... But I'll probably never see him again, right?'_'What do you mean "probably"? Of course you won't!'_'Right. My mistake...' I sighed unhappily inside my head._'Aww! Does that make you sad? Not being able to see the spiderloving freak?' _My negative voice said.'Shut up!' I saw an image of myself punching another image of myself in the face, and then it turned into a full-on fistfight. Because I'm crazy like that... I leaned back and watched the fight inside my head, cheering for my awesome side. When my mean side was laying facedown on the floor, crying, I decided to pay attention to my surroundings.I had missed the performance after mr. Crepsley, Gertha Teeth.

Meh, I could ask Steve about it later. The freaks performing right now were Sive and Seersa, the twisting twins. They were two twins that twisted around eachother, making it look like they were, I dunno, siamese twins or something. Lame. When they were done, the show was over! Everyone hated the lame ending and were muttering about it as they left. I just felt like kicking chairs, but I decided against it. I turned around to try to find out what was wrong with Steve. I was just about to say something when I saw the look on his face. He was staring at something over my right shoulder. I turned around. People in front of us were starting to freak out again. They were screaming, shoving and pointing upwards. I looked up to find out what was scaring them. It was a snake. A _huge_ snake. Huge as in biggest snake I've ever seen. It wasn't very colourful− it was a dark-green shade with lighter spots− but it looked deadly. It was sliding down a pillar that held up one of the balconies. Everyone under said balcony started to scream and run for the same moment the snake was on the floor, a huge spotlight lit up its body. The snake froze and looked straight into the light without blinking. I turned towards the stage, looking for mr. Tall or someone else who'd know what to do. Mr. Tall wasn't there, but someone else was. It was a boy, fourteen or fiftheen. He had long, yellow-green hair and his eyes were as narrow as the snake's. He wore a long, white coat. The boy hissed and raised his arms, and the coat fell was covered in scales! From head to toe, he sparkled in green, gold, yellow and blue. His back looked the same as the front, only a few shades darker. It was the Snake-boy. He slid down from the stage on his belly and started to walk towards the snake. When he walked by Steve and I, I saw that he had thin skin between his fingers and toes. He stopped a few feet from the snake. The spotlight went out and the snake moved a little. The Snake-boy hissed and it froze Snake-boy moved a little to the left, then to the right. The snake's head followed his movements, but it didn't attack. The Snake-boy moved closer, and I thought the snake was going to kill him. But he knew what he was doing. When he was close enough, he extended his hand and tickled the snake under its chin. Then he bent forward and gave it a kiss on the nose! (Or whatever it's called.) The snake wound itself around his neck. He patted it and smiled. I thought he was going to let us pet it, but he didn't. He went over to the wall that led to the exit. He unwinded the snake from his neck and put it on the floor. Then he tickled its chin again. It opened its mouth and I could see the fangs. The Snake-boy lay down on the floor again, and then he slid towards the snake's mouth!

"No way!" I said to myself.

Yes way. He put his head in the snake's mouth! He stayed in there for a few seconds, and then he wound the snake around his whole body.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the last we had to offer." Mr. Tall said from behind us. He had suddenly appeared on the stage. He smiled and jumped off the stage, but in mid-air he disappeared in a little smoke-cloud. Then he reappeared by the exit, holding up the two beautiful women from the Wolf-Man's act and the little hooded guys were selling souvenirs along the way, but I was out of money. Steve was quiet while we were waiting in the line. He was still looking thoughtful, so I let him fend for himself. I had to carry his souvenirs along with my own, cuz he would've forgotten them. Mr. Tall was still holding up the curtain-thingy, smiling at everyone. The smile grew wider when he saw us.

"Well, miss Valdimir, did you enjoy the show?" _Apparently he knew my last name too. Oh well_.

"It was awesome! I've never seen anything as amazing in my entire life!" I said excitedly.

"You weren't scared?"

"Nope. Well, a little. When that woman got her hand bitten of and all that, but otherwise no."

He chuckled. "You're a tough pair."

I looked behind us. There were a bunch of people wanting to get out.

"Well, we'd better get going. Bye." I said, leaning back to see his face.

"Goodbye miss Vladimir. Mr. Leonard." He gave us a little bow.

We got to the little room with the table. Steve seemed to wake up from his little trance. He leaned forward and whispered in my ear: "You'll have to leave without me."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"But why?"

"I'm not coming. I'm staying. I don't know what will happen, but I have to stay. I'll be back later, once I've..." He trailed off.

"Once you've what? Steve, tell me!" He was scaring me now.

"I can't. I'm sorry. I love you." He looked me in the eyes for a second, gave me quick kiss, and then he krept in under the table.

"Steve!" I didn't like what he'd just said. It sounded to much like a _real _goodbye.

"Go!" He hissed.

"But you can't-"

"Do as I say." He stuck his head out from under the table, his voice desperate. "Please?"

I looked at him. _'_"Alright, Steve. Alright, I'll leave." It was a complete and utter lie. There was no way I was leaving him behind. But I couldn't let _him_ know that. Relief flooded his face, and I felt extremely guilty for lying. I walked around the corner, out of his sight, and stopped.I had to keep an eye on him. Leaving wasn't an option. But how was I supposed to keep an eye on him without him seeing me? _'The door. _

_'_'What door? '_"The door to the balcony. In front of you." _I thought about it for a moment. And then I opened the door and went up the stairs. As I climb the stairs something jumped out at me. It was one of the little people he had a crazy look in his eyes, I ran I didn't care where I was running to I just booked it out of the cirque.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4 **

I ran from the theatre looking back every now and again to see if that thing was still after me. I stopped in the streets and tugged on my hair gasping. Steve was still in there. He was going to get eaten! I contemplated whether or not I should go back in there and get him, but when I saw a dark shadow emerge from the door way, I booked it. I didn't want to get into trouble with the owner.

I ran through back yards to get to my house. I wasn't expecting my parents to be awake. I stopped on the side walk as I saw all of the lights in the house were on. I was in deep crap. Wiping the tears from my eyes I caught my breath and walked in through the door. They were sleeping when I left, but apparently they had gotten this thing into their mind to check up on me or something. It was useless to try and avoid it now. I was grounded big the door behind me, I gazed upon the furious faces of parents. They stood with their hands on their hips as they glared me down. I slinked away from them as if I could escape their glares.

"Where did you go!" My father yelled. I held my hands up.

"Shh, isn't Annie still sleeping?" I asked, whispering. His face turned red from anger.

"I don't want any crap from you! Where were you?" he snarled, more quietly now. I had to think up a lie. I don't think they'd really appreciate it if I told them I went to a freak show.

"I forgot something at Steve's and I didn't remember it until I had a dream about it ok? I ran over to get it." I shrugged my shoulders and headed upstairs. They both fled to the bottom of the stairs and crossed their arms.

"Where is it?" My mother snorted. I turned around and looked at her confused.

"Where's what?" I asked her dully.

She snarled, "The thing you forgot!" I pulled away from the venom. She was worse than the wolf man when she was angry.

"Steve wasn't awake, I have to go over and get it in the morning." I replied. Turning back, I made my way up the stairs. Hopefully she wasn't going to stop me again. Of course, she wasn't the one who was pressed to keep my little interrogation going. It was my father.

"What did you leave over there that was so important?" He questioned for her, his arms crossed just like hers. I stopped again and turned round, thinking.

"Huh?" I asked again, dully. His face was starting to get red from anger.

"I said, What did you leave over there that was so important?" He questioned again. I sighed.

"I forgot my soccer cleats over at Steve's house when I went over there yesterday. I originally went over there today to pick them up, but then he ended up playing Resident Evil and I ended up talking about spiders, then when I came home, I forgotten about them, so I'm going to have to run over on my way to school tomorrow and pick them up for when we have gym." I explained. I hadn't used this excuse before, but it sounded believable to me. I mean, I was a kid, I deserved to forget things like that once in a while. If I didn't, then I wouldn't be an actual kid. I'd be some, preppy zoned out, perfect, snotty little goodie-two-shoes who would be afraid to get his elbows dirty and his knees skinned. And trust me, I loved to get my elbow's looked at each other for a moment. I prayed to god that they'd believe me, and wouldn't call Steve's mom. Sighing, my mother shook her head and looked at me. She wasn't as mad as before, but I could tell she was still pretty steamed.

"Alright, tomorrow you make sure you get those shoes." She replied. Smiling I nodded my head and ran the rest of the way up the stairs. Thank God in heaven she believed me. Hollering up the stairs once I hit the top step she said, "Now I don't want you missing school just because you got to bed so late, you hear me!" She shouted.

"Alright mom, dad, Good night!" I hollered back down running to my room. I shut the door before they could return their goodnights. Leaning against it once it latched, I sighed a breath of relief. That was too close. I could tell they weren't going to believe it, but they had to. It was such a likely excuse that was so believable. I walked forward an wondered what it would have been like if I told them the truth.

"Yeah mom, dad, I was out watching a freak show with a killer wolf man, a guy who could eat glass and other random stuff, and a snake boy with long blonde, greenish hair." Yeah, that would go over well like a fart in church. I chuckled as I imagined the look on my mothers face once I told her the truth.

"Didn't I tell you that those Freak shows were a cruel, act of indecency and in-humanity! Those people don't deserve to be locked in cages and starved to death!" I snorted as I grabbed the bottom of my shirt and slid it off as I thought of what I'd say.

"I'm sorry to say this mom, but the snake boy or anyone else in that freak show didn't look Malnourished. Looking over at my desk I saw that my parents had left the cordless phone in over to it after putting on a pair of shorts, I crawled into bed and grabbed the phone. I dialed Steve's number, then shut my light off before turning it on. I was probably going to get his mom, and I was probably going to do something stupid like get him in trouble, but I was saved when he picked up, pretending to sound tired.

"Hello?" He asked faking a yawn. I could hear that it was fake, but any sort of yawn made me yawn.

"Thanks butt head." I whispered into the phone, getting comfortable under the sheets.

"Andrea?" He asked, not sounding tired anymore.

"Who'd you think you were talking to? The president?" I chuckled lightly and pulled my blankets down around my waist. He snorted.

"Andrea, why are you calling me?" He asked, the sound of his shoes hitting the floor. I could tell that he had snuck in through his window and had ripped off his shirt and stuff to get into bed just incase his mom came up to see who it was who was calling.

"I got home and my parents were awake." I replied. I looked out the window above the head of my bed and thought about everything. The Cirque performers, the Twins, Rhamus Twobellies, The Wolf Man, The Snake boy, and my most favorite act. The Performing deadly Tarantula, Madame Octa. I could hear Steve groan with apology on the other side.

"You grounded?" He asked, sounding sorry. This was the first time I'd ever heard Steve sound this sorry.

"No, I told them that I had gone over to your house because I left my cleats at your place and couldn't remember until I had a dream about them. They believed it, just barely though." I rolled over so that I was looking out the window fully. In the streets, I saw someone out in the middle of the road in a dark cloak. I squinted against the glare of the street lights. The figure was looking away from my house then, in a moment, it was gone.

"Andrea? Andrea!" Steve hollered at me on the phone. I jumped.

"What?" I hissed back. He sat there silent for a few moments in silence then whispered into the phone."You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" He growled. I sighed.

No." I replied dragging my hands across my face, rolling onto my back. He laughed."Did a naked dude walk by?" He boomed on the other side of the phone.

With my hand over my face I muttered through my hand, "something like that."

he laughed. "It was a Fat guy wasn't it." I rolled my eyes as I stared at the darkness on my ceiling. "Anyway, he said 'When I got home my mom was sound asleep, but you know how creaky my stairs are, so I decided to crawl through the window instead. I had just gotten in when you called so it was a good thing you didn't call any sooner than that." I sighed and shook my head. I can't believe that he'd gotten out of that theatre so fast, and tone in his voice made him sound...slightly angry.

"I'm sorry for calling you." I apologized. He laughed, the sound of his bed squeaking in the background.

"Don't be sorry! Anyway. What did you think of that Freak show? It was awesome wasn't it?" He boomed. I laughed quietly. I didn't want to run the risk of my parents hearing me on the phone, though I'm sure they already knew.

"It was great Steve. Thanks for bringing me."

He snorted."Don't thank me, you're the one who grabbed the damn ticket." I laughed again. I remember the feeling I had when I closed my eyes and caught the ticket. It felt so...like I was supposed to have it. And the midget thing who chased me away from spying on Steve. It felt like I knew who it was or something like that. It felt so familiar somehow.

"Steve, what was your favorite part of the show?" I asked.

Steve sighed."Man, you're asking me to choose one?" He complained. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine then, choose two." I snorted. He laughed.

"Well, I liked all of it, but my first favorite would have to have been the Wolf man and the guy who can put limbs back on. That was freaking awesome. And my second favorite, I'd have to say would be the Snake boy. He was so freaky looking. But at the same time, if I was a girl, I'd say he was hot." I heard his bed squeak again. I cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't care if you say, 'if I was a girl' or not, thinking a guy is hot while you are a guy is considered gay." I laughed.

He laughed in return."Well Miss Perfect, what were you're two favorite parts of that show?" He asked, small sections of sarcasm rimming his question. I smiled.

"That's a stupid question. I liked the Tarantula and the Snake boy." I returned proudly. Steve snorted.

"Of course you like the damn spider, but why do you like the Snake boy?" He asked. I pulled my blankets up around my neck and rolled over so that the phone was in the pillow.

"Because he had a snake! Did you see how well he had that thing trained? It could have lunged out and bit someone's face off, but instead it stayed by its 'hot' master." I teased. Steve let off a mocking laugh. I could tell he wasn't pleased with that one.

"Yeah right, you thought he was hot too." He joked. I shook my head, laughing.

"Nu uh. He looked more like a chick than a guy if you ask me. I mean, sure he was a snake boy, but shouldn't snake boy's be bald? His hair was almost down to his butt dude." Steve laughed.

"No it wasn't you liar. It was down to the middle of his back." He boomed. I laughed.

"I said almost, you schmuck!" I retorted. We fell silent. I'm pretty sure he was thinking of the events that happened tonight. I mean, we snuck out, went to see a freak show, almost got caught. Well, I did.

"Steve?" I questioned into the phone.

"Yeah?" He said, sounding almost tired.

"Why didn't you say you liked the performance with the spider? I mean, the way you acted when you saw the guy who was controlling her..." I stopped. He was quiet. He sighed.

"That guy just looked familiar, that's all. That's the only reason I acted that way when I saw him. There was no other reason." He muttered. I didn't say anything else. I stared up at the ceiling and tried to place the pieces together. Someone he knew? Looked like someone he knew. Was there really someone so ugly that belonged on the streets? Maybe it was someone from an old Dracula film that Steve noticed? Clearing his throat on the opposite side of the phone, Steve sighed.

"Dude, I'm going to let you go. I'm zonked." He mumbled into the phone. I could hear the bed squeak as he rolled over and adjusted himself.

"Alright, but we have to talk about it more in the morning." I replied. Laughing quietly, Steve cleared his throat.

"Alright dude, I guess we can talk about it in the morning. You want me to come pick you up before school?" he asked. I didn't say anything. "Andrea?" I fought back a chuckle. "Andrea?" He repeated. Each time making me have to laugh harder. "Andrea!" he hollered finally. I cleared my throat, a huge smile on my face.

"I'm sorry what? I was thinking about how 'hot' the snake boy was." I repeated, fighting back from busting out to loudly. Snorting, Steve growled in return and clicking the phone off, I laughed into my pillow. I was so mean to him sometimes, especially now that he had given me some good black mail to hit him with. Putting the phone on my end stand, I yawned. Before I knew it, I was asleep, dreaming about the cirque, and Madame Octa and how much I wanted that spider.


End file.
